Every single person comes into this world. They
grow. They have many different experiences. Many
of them go to church. Some don't go to church.
They continue to mature and they continue to
age. They have more experiences. Some are exposed
to the Word of God. Others are not exposed to
the Word of God. Everybody has the law of God
written on their hearts. Everybody knows that
there's a God. They have the knowledge of God,
but they suppress that truth and unrighteousness
in their hearts. They continue to age and mature.
And one day they come to a moment in time in
their life when they die. Everybody. Every single
person breathes their last breath. But in between
the time they're born and the time they die,
God has been merciful and God has been gracious
because he's given us his word. He's given us
truth. He's given us the world around us so that
we know that there's a maker. He's given us the
preaching of the gospel. So for those present
today who do not know Jesus Christ by faith and
repentance, I want to tell you right now that
there is hope for you because the gospel is still
being proclaimed to this day. There is mercy
available. Because if you are present, you are
under the ministry of God's holy and errant and
perfect infallible and sufficient Word. There
is hope for your soul that you can be spared
from the wrath to come. Because the Gospel is
being proclaimed. Repentance can be exercised.
Christ can be believed upon. The day is coming
when that will not be the case. When you die,
there is no longer the preaching of the Gospel.
When you die, there's no longer the opportunity
for repentance. When you die, there's no longer
opportunity to believe on Jesus Christ. But there
is now. There is presently in this world, in
your life, because it's being proclaimed to you
at this very moment. Today we come to this story
and we're presented with two men. A rich man
who ends up in torment and a poor man who ends
up in heaven. So let's consider the rich man
first this morning. His life is seen clearly
in this text. The text says that this rich man,
that he habitually dressed in purple and fine
living, joyously living in splendor every day.
Now, it's implied in the next few verses that
he feasts, that he eats very, very well. Now,
the Nazby uses the terminology joyously. I don't
think that's the best translation of this verse.
Other translations use the word sumptuously.
Joyously makes it sound like there's something
good and rooted in biblical reality and Christ
and God and true things, but that's not what
is taking place here. This man is living sumptuously.
He's living extravagantly. He's living, this
word, it carries this idea of excess and abundance,
or a word that might make us think of that as
decadence in every area of his life. Now, he
was living literally like a king. If you had
purple, and you wore purple in that day, in that
age, you're trying to make... a statement about
yourself, your status, your influence, your power,
and who you are. Purple was a very rare color
for any clothing or linen. It was unique to royalty.
This man was seeking to describe himself that
he was somebody. He was trying to make it known
to everybody around him that he was somebody,
that he was known, that he was a person of honor,
that he was a person of influence, that he had
pomp in his life. This characterized every part
of his life. His dress, his clothing, what he
wore, what he looked like. But he did this every
day over and over and over. But it wasn't just
that. It was in his eating. It was in his food.
It was in what he did throughout the day. This
is what characterized the whole of who he was.
Excess. His wealth was his life, brothers and
sisters. This life, this world, the worldly things,
the carnal things of this life. Those were the
things that satisfied him. Those were the things
that he had his eye on. And most likely, this
rich man, brothers and sisters, he didn't even
think about death. He was so living in the moment.
He was so caught up in the sumptuous, pleasuring,
and carnal realities that he enjoyed in this
life that he never thought, About what was to
come. He didn't think about his soul. But I bet
you one thing. He still went to the temple. This
man was a first century Jew. He still went to
church. He still did what was religiously right.
And religiously correct. Even though he's living.
In all his splendor. Now there's an issue with
this man and his wealth. And we'll see a little
later, this is not a condemnation of wealth.
There's an issue with this man. In all his ample
supply, in all of his excess, he never shared
any of it. He never... gave away anything. It
was his. I'm not going to share this. I'm not
going to give it to him. It's mine. How do we
know this? Because there was a legitimately poor
man, impoverished man, malnourished man on the
brink of death that was laid, that was brought,
that was carried to his gate and laid before
him. A man that just wanted some of the scraps
off of his table. A man that just wanted the
leftovers. A man that just wanted a little something
that desired and longed to be fed because he's
hungry and he was starving. He was dying most
likely. Yet, this rich man never exercises a
generous fiber in his being. He's not moved to
compassion for this lowly, impoverished man.
Listen, brothers and sisters, this man was a
Jew. He had Moses and the prophets. He had the
Word of God. He knew what was required of him
with regards to the orphan and the widow and
the poor among the nation of Israel. But he chose
not to share his wealth. There was greed and
jealousy even in his heart, I'm sure. Now this
man, this rich man, he dies like all. Men do.
Poor and rich all die. It's interesting that
his death is mentioned, but then his burial is
mentioned as well. The poor man, his burial is
not mentioned at all. I'm sure that this man,
he came to the end of his life and his funeral
was something. I'm sure it was well attended.
I'm sure that there were those who came and paid
their respects to this man and his life. And
I'm sure that they came and some even mourned
and grieved and some were saddened at the loss
of this wealthy, this powerful, this influential,
this rich man that had passed. But what of his
fate following? his death. What came of this
man after he died? All the excess in life, all
the carnal pleasures, every need met. Everything
he could dream of, everything he wanted, every
longing, every desire was met because of his
excess wealth, because of his great power, because
of his great influence. But what of after his
death? Well, the text tells us, doesn't it? In
Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment.
This rich man had a good life in worldly terms
and carnal terms, but he did not have a good
death. This rich man opened his eyes in conscious
torment, conscious suffering, conscious agony,
conscious pain and suffering. This man was well
aware of what he was experiencing. A drastic
change. From his life in this world to his life
after death. Now, it's interesting that this
man immediately cries out for what? Mercy. Now!
Now this man, who's had it all, Now this man
is crying out for mercy to somebody else. He
wants mercy. He wants compassion. He's looking
for help because he recognizes his need, something
he never gave in his life. He's looking for compassion,
that one thing that he never showed to those
in need. He wants somebody to show mercy on him.
And what does he do? He cries out and he says,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me. And send Lazarus
so he does know who that poor, impoverished,
malnourished man was that was in his gate. He
knows his name. He knows who he was. Send Lazarus
so that he may dip the tip of his finger. and
water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony
in this flame. He just wanted a little bit. He
just wanted a drop, brothers and sisters. How
much did Lazarus want? He just wanted the crumbs.
Now this rich man in agony and terror and hell,
brothers and sisters, now he just wants a drop
of mercy. He just wants that which would fall
off the finger. Of Lazarus. The man he didn't
know. And the man he refused. To help. What does
Abraham respond? He says listen. You got your
good things in life. You got what you wanted
in life. You got your heart's desire. Good things.
You got the thing that your heart longed for
in this life. You had your wealth. You had your
power. You had your pomp. You had your influence.
You got those things. Now you're in agony. And
Lazarus is being comforted. The man who suffered
in life is now being comforted. And the man...
who had everything in life and every pleasure
and every comfort, is now in agony and conscious
torment after his death. Now, this man, he goes
on in the appeals to Abraham again. And he says,
Then I beg you, in verse 27, Father, that you
send him to my father's house, meaning Lazarus.
For I have five brothers in order that he may
warn them so that they will not also come to
this place of torment. So we think to ourselves,
finally, this man is thinking about somebody
else other than himself in torment. Finally,
he's changed. But what's implicit in his statement?
It's the fact that he himself was not warned
about this place. Let them be warned. I wasn't
warned and that's why I'm here. Let them be warned.
But not by the word of God. By some miraculous
show or appearance of something else other than
the word of God. And also notice how this man
is still commanding. He's still ordering even
Father Abraham. The father of the faithful, brothers
and sisters. Abraham, the father of their religion
and their nation. We've been reading in Genesis
how this man of faith was so mightily used of
God. and God worked through him, and that he
is the source of their very nation and their
religion. And here is this rich man ordering
Father Abraham around. Do you see the hardness
in his heart, the arrogance, the condescension
in his heart, even to Abraham? And then we see
it epitomized in the last appeal, the last thing
that he says, the last statement that he says
to Father Abraham. He says, but this is what
the man says to Abraham. But he said, no, Father
Abraham. But if someone goes to them from the
dead, they will repent. How haughty and prideful
can a man be to argue with Abraham in... Hell.
Abraham clears up the subject and what does the
rich man say? No. The pride. The vanity. Brothers
and sisters, you would think that being in hell,
being in agony, being in torment after death
would change a man's heart. But we see this man
is exactly the same as he's always been. Full
of pride, unbelief, arrogance, and carnality.
Condescending to everybody around him. So what
was his sin? Why is he in agony following his
death. Well, it's not simply the possession of
wealth. We know that. There's many, many wealthy
people in the Bible who are commended for their
godliness. Think about Abraham himself. Brothers
and sisters, Abraham was very, very wealthy,
but Abraham was very, very godly. Think about
Job. Job was very, very wealthy. But Job was
very, very godly. You see, it's not wealth that
was his sin. There was something deeper. There
was something underneath the wealth that was
the issue. Maybe it was the absence of compassion
and mercy in his life. Maybe it was his refusal
to be generous. With the poor man that was laid
at his gate. That's certainly sin. That's certainly
an issue. But I think there's something even
deeper. What about the fact that he doesn't believe
in the word of God? That he doesn't believe.
In Moses and the prophets. That he's never repented
of his sin. And never trusted. in the promises
of salvation, in the Word of God. Is there anything
deeper than that? Brothers and sisters, this
man had Moses and the prophets. This man had
the Scriptures and he did not believe them. But
here's another question. Why did he not believe
the Scriptures? Why did he not believe in the
sufficiency of the Scriptures to save? Was there
even something below that? Brothers and sisters,
it's the sin in his heart. It's pride. It's vanity.
It's arrogance. And out of that pride and that
vanity and that arrogance, He loves all his possessions
and he does not love the God who has made him.
He doesn't believe because he's trusting in everything
else. He doesn't believe because his heart is
wicked. His heart and his affections, his longings
are set on everything in this world. His heart
loves that linen. His heart loves that purple.
His heart loves the power and the pomp and the
prestige that those things give to him. He loves
himself. That's why he does not love God, and
that's why he does not believe in the Scriptures.
Belief is not about information, brothers and
sisters. Get this. Understand this. If you're
here today and you don't know Christ, your problem
is not having enough information in your head
and not understanding something about the Word
of God. Your issue is this, that you are exalting
yourself into a place of judgment over God and
His Holy Word. That's pride. It's the fact that
you think you are a person, you are in a place
to judge the God who made you and look down at
His Word. Your problem is not informational.
Your problem is moral and it has to do with sin
and your very nature. That's why we don't believe
the Word of God. That's why we don't believe
in Jesus Christ. That's why men don't call on
His name. That's why men don't repent of their
sins. Because they love their sin and they love
themselves and they exalt themselves and they
refuse to get down off of their high horse to
humble themselves under the grace of a sovereign
God. That's why this man is in agony. Because
he never gave God the rightful place in his life.
He never repented of his sin. He never humbled
himself and exalted Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior of his life. He never saw the need in
his own life to be saved. He had everything he
needed. I've got a good life. I've got health.
I've got the best doctors. I've got a pleasant
and enjoyable life. I'm not going to think about
death. I'm just going to worry about my body
and my physicality. I'm just going to worry about
everything else in my life and enjoy it while
I can. All the while, he neglected his own eternal
soul. He neglected eternity. He never prepared
himself for that which is to come in death. He
never looked forward. He just looked at himself
and his own life. That's his sin, brothers and
sisters. Everything else is a symptom and a result
of that. Why did he not share his wealth and
help and serve his neighbor? Why did he not serve
the poor man? Because his heart. Loved those
things because of his sin. Why did he not repent
and believe in the word of God, Moses and the
prophets? Because his heart was trusting in anything
and everything besides that. Because he was a
prideful and arrogant man. And where did it bring
him? Where did it lead him? Into agony. It led
him into divine judgment and conscious torment,
brothers and sisters. That's where that pride
brought him. The same pride he had in his life
is now the same pride he enjoys in hell. He won't
let go of it. Brothers and sisters, give it up.
Humble yourself under the mighty hand of a sovereign
God who has sent Jesus Christ to save sinners.
Humble yourself. Give up your pride. Recognize
your inability. Recognize your sinfulness. Recognize
the vanity of loving things. Recognize the vanity
of not trusting in the Word of God that God has
revealed in Moses and the prophets and the Scriptures.
Forsake your vanity, your pride, and your arrogance.
And humble yourself. And come to Jesus Christ.
And receive eternal life. This was the rich man.
Now there was another man. The poor man. Not
as much time is spent on him in this parable.
It's much smaller in proportion to the rich man.
And the parable doesn't seem to be as much about
the poor man. So his life. And his situation
is drastically different than that of the rich
man, isn't it? What does the text say? And a
poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate,
covered with sores and longing to be fed, with
the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's
table. Besides, even the dogs were coming and
licking his sores. This man... wasn't living
the life of luxury. This man was suffering. This
man was genuinely and sincerely impoverished.
Now, we can't think about poverty and being poor
like we do today in our society. This was a legitimate
poverty by which he was incapable of supplying
Food and money and clothing for himself because
he was unclean to the general population. This
man was an unclean individual. He could not go
where most of society could go. He could not
do what most of society could do because he was
unhealthy. His body was broken. It says that
he was full of sores or ulcers all over his body.
And the only medical care that he got, brothers
and sisters, it wasn't from the hands of man,
was it? The only medical care and treatment and
compassion that this man received was from the
wild dogs that ran stray in the town. They would
come and lick his sores. The rich man didn't
take care of him, but the dogs seemingly take
good care of him. These weren't your little house
puppy. These were feral creatures that were a
nuisance and danger to everybody else. And these
were the ones that would come and lick this man's
sores. This was the crowd he ran with. This was
the group of folks that accepted him, these wild
animals. These were the ones that would come
around him. It wasn't the people in the town
or the population. In essence, this man was the
very bottom of society. He was the dregs of the
barrel, brothers and sisters. Very, very different.
He was malnourished. He didn't have enough food
and he longed for anything. He was hungry and
starving, most likely on the brink of death.
Nobody took note of him. He was obscure, unknown,
and overlooked. Now this man, just like the rich
man, dies. He passes. Just like the man with
all the wealth, now the man with nothing in his
possession and no health and a very difficult
providential situation in his life dies. and
breathes his last. Now, this man, who was not
cared for, was not shown compassion, was shown
no mercy in life. Now this man, his burial is
not mentioned. There's no reference to it at
all. We don't know what happened to his body
after he died. R .C. Sproul said, we can just
imagine. That somebody came along with a trailer
or a cart, picked up his body, went and tossed
it in Gehenna and burned it. Nobody looked after
him. He wasn't worth anything to anybody in this
world. But what about his fate following death?
What came of this poor man that died? Well, immediately
we read that this one that is unnoticed, immediately
we read that this one that was unobserved and
unseen and overlooked all his life because of
his situation, what he's taken note of by the
angels of God. This man is carried away to Abraham's
bosom. He's taken to the father of their faith
to his side. to the inner circle, to the place
of honor. This man is cared for in his death,
even though he was never looked at or cared for
in this world. The angels take note of him. He's
brought to the place of honor at Abraham's side
or Abraham's bosom. It carries this idea, if
we think of the Last Supper, The Apostle John
in Jesus' bosom, his chest leaning on him, it
has this idea of closeness and nearness, this
idea of feasting and fellowship. That's what
it's saying. That this man who was hungry, this
man who was sick, this man who was dying, this
man who was overlooked, this man is swooped up
by the angels of God and he's brought into sweet
fellowship with the saints of God for all eternity.
That he's... cared for, that he's fed, that he
has abundance, that he has a sweet experience.
This man, brothers and sisters, could agree with
the Apostle Paul when he says, to live is Christ
and to die is gain. Because just like the wicked
man, this man's death brought a drastic change
in his life, didn't it? His life is no longer
anything like what it was. His life is drastically,
it's dramatically different and changed immediately
following his death. Now he's being comforted.
Now he's being taken care of. Now he's being
watched over. Now he's being fed. Now he's being
nourished. Now he's in sweet fellowship. Now
he's taken note of by the divine creator of the
world, brothers and sisters, by his Savior, by
the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he is
cared for for all eternity. This man, interesting
enough, is now the object of desire for the one
in torment. No longer is it that he's longing
for food from the rich man's table, but now the
rich man is longing for a drip of water off of
Lazarus' finger. This man, his circumstances
have dramatically changed. And just like the
rich man, it's permanent. It's unalterable. Notice
in the text that Abraham responds to him and
he says, and besides all of this, between us
and you, there is a great chasm fixed. Now why
does the Lord Jesus Christ include this in the
text, in the parable? Why does he put this in
there? To show us. That the state and the condition
into which we enter following death. Is unalterable.
It is certain. It is fixed. And is unchanging.
This man would enjoy the comforts of heaven.
And sweet fellowship with the saints of God from
all ages. And that would never change. While
the rich man. would experience agony and torment
and suffering in an unalterable, unchanging,
eternal fashion under the judgment of a sovereign
and a holy and a righteous God. And this could
not be changed. This could not be altered. So
what's the difference? What's the difference
between these two men? Is it that one was born
better than the other? Is it simply that their
situations were different? One was born into
wealth and the other was born into poverty and
therefore their destinies were set. What is it
that makes the difference? The poor man, though
he didn't have any possessions in his life and
this world, he was in possession of two priceless
things. He was in possession of two invaluable
realities that are worth more than anything in
this life. This poor man possessed, he had in
his possession, he owned them, they had been
given to him, they had been graciously given
to him, and these two things are the thing that
make the difference in his life going to agony
or Abraham's bosom. Faith and repentance. This
man, believed Moses and the prophets. This man,
though he was impoverished and malnourished and
suffering and in distress in his life, this man
was a godly man, brothers and sisters. This man
had faith and he believed that he needed to be
saved. God gave him faith and God gave him repentance.
And that's what makes the difference. He believed
the Word of God. He believed in the redemption
and the Messiah that God had provided. That's
what made the difference. Not the man. Not their
situations. Not their circumstances. Not what
they possessed or did not possess. But the graces
given to them by God. The reality of repentance.
And faith. That's why this poor man is carried
away and cared for. Because Jesus Christ is gracious
and saves those who don't deserve it. That's
why this man enjoys Abraham's friendship and
his fellowship for eternity. Because God is merciful,
brothers and sisters. And He's made that mercy
known in Moses and the prophets. He's made that
mercy known in the Word of God. And it is sufficient
to... save. It is powerful to save. So as we
consider how to apply this text, consider, brothers
and sisters, that worldly conditions or circumstances
are not indicative of the conditions of one's
soul before the living God. Just because someone
has a bunch of stuff, just because someone dresses
very nicely and they're a nice person, just because
they're a good moral person, they have a nice
house, they have a nice home, they have a nice
car, they're a good person in the community,
does not mean that their soul is right with the
living God. We tend to make judgments and discernments,
at least I do, based on outward appearance, based
on what people look like, how they present themselves.
Every single time that I do evangelism, I always
struggle with sharing the gospel with those who
are presentable. More than those who look rough.
Do you know why, brothers and sisters? Because
I associate appearance and outward looks with
how someone is doing on their inside. With the
nature of their heart. With who they are. Appearances
are deceiving, brothers and sisters. Just because
someone has providentially been given wealth
and they're in a good place in their life does
not mean that their fate is set. It does not
mean that they are on the good path. It does
not mean that God is pleased with them. It does
not mean that God has given His divine favor
to you and that Jesus Christ loves you. Brothers
and sisters, it does not mean that you are going
to heaven. It does not mean that you will be
cared for after your death. What matters is that
we are born again in this life. What matters
is that we turn from our sin here and now, in
this day, in this age, and we trust in Jesus
Christ as He is revealed in the Holy Scriptures.
That's what matters, brothers and sisters. Yes,
listen to me. I know that we live in a world
of means. That we can take advantage of opportunities
and means and we can grow in our wealth. We can
do things in our life. But listen to me. We are
where we are because of the... Providence of
God. Your station, your circumstance in life
is the providence of God. And just because of
your situation, that does not indicate whether
or not your soul is right with God, that you
have the righteousness of Christ, that you've
been born again. Care for your soul. Look to
eternity. You can be the most... community -oriented
person in the room. You can have the biggest
house in the neighborhood. You can be the nicest
guy in Albion. You can be the nicest and sweetest
young lady that there is in Edwards County. But
if your soul is not regenerate and you do not
have faith and repentance, you will not go to
fellowship with Father Abraham. You will be in
agony for all eternity. you will be under the
just judgment of a holy and a righteous God.
Our outward circumstances do not dictate and
do not determine the condition and state of our
soul before a living God. We have to consider
the shortness of life and the certainty of death.
These men lived and these men died. The rich
and the poor. Whatever circumstance, whatever
situation, whatever providential place God has
placed you, you're going to die. And it doesn't
discriminate, does it? Death doesn't discriminate
on whether you had influence in life, whether
you had power and a place of authority in life.
Death doesn't discriminate on whether or not
You were supposedly a good person and a moral
person in life. We all die, young and old, good
and bad morally and supposedly morally. We all
die. This is the life, this is the time that
God has given for repentance and faith while
the gospel is preached. R .C. Sproul also said,
Now whenever he hears someone say that God is
infinitely merciful, that he is infinitely merciful,
that he wants to stick his finger up and say,
just a minute, I have a correction here. I just
want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.
Yes, God is infinitely merciful in that he's
an infinite being and he has mercy, but if you
mean that God has mercy without bounds and without
limits, then you are incorrect. Because we all
die. And if we don't know Christ, if we are not
in Christ, and we do not have faith, and we do
not have repentance, then His mercy has found
a limit at your death. His mercy will not be
upon you if you are not in Christ. We have to
consider the shortness and the brevity of life.
It's here one minute. and it's gone the next.
I learn that gradually more and more as I age.
It's not just that we all die, but it's that
one moment I'm here, and the next moment I'm
already here. We lose track of time. We lose
track of where we're at in our life. And brothers
and sisters, listen. Death is not... This calculated
thing that we know when it's coming. We are aging.
We are maturing. We are nearing death every single
day. And we don't know when or how that death
is going to come to us. This is the day and the
age that God has given men for repentance and
faith. While the gospel is proclaimed. The day
is coming when you will not be able to repent.
The gospel will not be preached. And you will
not be shown grace and mercy sitting under the
word of God. Today is the day to repent. Today
is the day to believe on Jesus Christ. This minute
right now is the moment to turn from your sin.
To give up your pride and your arrogance. And
trust in him for eternal life. Don't delay. Don't
wait. Don't go another minute. Deal with God.
Deal with your sin. Give yourself to Him. We
don't know how or when we're going to die, but
we do know the gospel is being heard. Mercy is
available, brothers and sisters. Grace is available.
Repentance is available because the gospel is
being preached. There will be no proclamation
of mercy and grace in agony. There will be no
call to repentance after death, brothers and
sisters. When we die, our fate and our condition,
it's settled and it's determined, it's fixed.
It's too late. But it's not yet. There's still
time to believe on Christ. There's still time
to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to
consider the reality of heaven and hell. Everybody
loves the idea of heaven. Everybody. I've not
found a single person that gets angry, mad, or
upset about the idea of heaven. Everybody wants
to go to that place. Everybody wants that. Everybody
wants to experience that future. They want to
know that. And they believe in that. They take
that. But hell is not so popular. And rightfully
so. It's a very difficult doctrine and teaching.
Our response to it teaches us even now. When
I think of hell and the divine just judgment
of God on the wicked, my heart is not broken
as it ought to be. How can we think about hell
and loved ones or friends and family or individuals
in this room going to hell? And not burst out
in tears. How am I not crushed more over that
reality? It teaches us of the hardness of our
heart. The compassion that we need. Brothers
and sisters, our response to hell teaches us
that we need to understand and receive and believe
revealed truth. depending on our emotional responses
to that truth. We have to receive the truth that
God has given to us. We don't pick and choose
what we believe. We don't get heaven without
hell, brothers and sisters. It's not one or the
other. It's both and. God is merciful. God is
gracious. But God is just and God is holy. He
is righteous. He will not leave any unpunished
who don't know Christ. But His grace will be
extended and His mercy given to all those who
know Christ for all eternity. If we knew anything
of the nature and character of hell, and there
are bound to be individuals in this room with
this many people, who don't know Christ, who
have not turned from sin. There are bound to
be people that at this moment are headed to agony.
If you knew anything about the nature of hell,
the severity of sin, and the holiness of God,
you would do anything it takes to get to the
cross of Calvary. You would give up anything
to be saved. You would give up your pride. You
would give up your vanity. You would give up
your arrogance. You would give up your morality.
You would give up your supposed goodness and
righteousness. Brothers and sisters, you would
crawl through flames on your knees for 20 hours
to get to the cross if you knew what hell was
like. Sin is that severe. And God is that holy.
None are going to slip by. None are going to
be overlooked. He is just. He is sovereign. He
is holy. And He will not let you pass. When you
die, are you prepared for eternity, brothers
and sisters? Do you know where your soul is going?
Are you going to be with Father Abraham and all
the saints from all eternity because you believed
in Jesus Christ and the salvation that the Word
of God makes known? Or are you headed to agony
and conscious pain and torment for all eternity?
Are you confident of your eternal future? Do
you know your eternal destiny? Take time to consider
your soul. Take time to consider your never dying
eternal soul. Take time to consider your eternal
future. Are you prepared for death? God has made
known these realities in His Word. There's no
more significant thing that you can take time
to think about, pray about, and meditate upon
than asking yourself, is my soul set for eternity
because I believe in Jesus Christ? Because He
has been merciful and He has been gracious. I
have been born again. My affections are new.
I love... and He loves me. Prepare yourself.
Take time to think about this most important
question. Will you be the rich man or will you
be the poor man? Two men, two faiths. Faith and
repentance on this earth. Trust in Jesus Christ.